Girls/Boys Feature – Still December but some teams have emerged as frontrunners

**GIRLS BASKETBALL - The first of two matchups of the year in Girls Basketball takes place tonight as the undefeated Averill Park Lady Warriors and their stars Katie Duma, Michela Ottati and Brittany O’Shea take on the undefeated Shen Lady Plainsmen led by Emily Weber and Allie Setter. Both teams have been rolling over their opponents. The closest challenges have been Shen/Burnt Hills which was an 8-point victory for Shen while AP has not been challenged at all as they have been comfortably in command at halftime of every game and have a 24-point average margin of victory holding teams to a humble 37-point offensive average through their first four games.

Brittany O’Shea is the next in-line of the proud basketball family that has already produced two great collegiate players and dad Gerry was no slouch either, as his exploits on the hardwood in the city are still in the memory of those who played against him. Duma and Ottati have had great AAU and high school careers thus far. Katie has been on varsity for four years and was a key performer on two highly successful teams as a youngster when she played with Brittany’s older sister Brook on two title teams and is now on target for a great college career as she is headed to D2 Holy Family in Philadelphia.

Ottati transferred in from Amsterdam and is the perfect compliment to Duma and O’Shea. Her 8 treys have made it very difficult for teams to man-up the Warriors but she also has extended opponents’ ability to pack a zone. This basic but key contribution of taking some of the defensive attention off of Duma so teams have to play more honestly is just the thing this team needed to get back to the title. Also O’Shea is shooting 100% from the foul line and orchestrates the offense and leads the defensive charge for talented head coach Shaun Organ, a former star at Greenville HS and a product of the College of St. Rose Golden Knights basketball team.

Shenendehowa has one of the best skippers in Section Two history in Ken Strube and comes into this game with a 34.5 defensive average and this one looks like it will be decided by which team can hold the other one enough to deter their offensive sets. If Shen can keep Duma and the Warriors off the scoreboard they have a chance to defend their homecourt tonight. The atmosphere for this game should be electric and I would get in early if you want a good seat!

Another key game tonight is Albany Academy at Voorheesville in a battle of two 4-1 teams at the top of the Colonial Standings trailing Holy Names and in a logjam with Cohoes and Watervliet. Should be a real good one!

**BOYS BASKETBALL – Derrick Millinghaus has long been a favorite player of mine with his cat-quick moves and ability to see the floor but his recent ability to handle the scoring load while his top weapon Reece Jackson recovers from an injury deserves special mention.

If you took any point guard’s premier scoring option off a team and asked him to carry the load there probably wouldn’t be too many in this area who could handle the scoring void, but Millinghaus has been on fire. He and his Patriot teammates, including two of his brothers Shadell and Devonte, just took over last night and went out to a decisive 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter. The team ended up winning by 9 over Troy with Derrick finishing with 31 huge points including 90% from the foul line and three longballs. Shadell chipped in with 12, Josh Williams had 8 and Devonte added 7 to propel the team to victory as they inch closer to an undefeated matchup with CBA on Tuesday in what looks to be an instant classic.

The 12/22 game will have lots of subplots: Can Schenectady overcome the absence of Jackson against a premier team like CBA? Will the addition of Jack Reilly be the physical addition that the Brothers need to combat Schenectady’s up-tempo style? Who will win the battle of two of the brightest, best and most underrated coaches in the area? Is this the game that could put Schenectady back on the map after a near decade absence at the top of the standings?

These and other questions will be answered on Tuesday if CBA takes care of their Friday game and don’t overlook their upcoming opponent the Amsterdam Rams. Schenectady played last night and has the extra days to prepare.

Now that I have superhyped it, let’s hope the game lives up to its billing…..

In the Foothills Council last night, my league favorite SGF Bulldogs and their coach JC Mossing took on longtime power Gloversville and came out victorious with a convincing 13-point victory. The team was aided by a huge 25-point 4th quarter and were led in scoring by Senior Nate Uline who’s 24 points led his team.

This game was very important for the Bulldogs who have been improving year in and year out but have had difficulty beating the top teams in the league. Of course they will have to travel and play in front of the superfans of Gloversville still and they still have both games against Scotia so their future has yet to be decided but for now, SGF has emerged as the frontrunner in the league with huge wins over Queensbury, Johnstown and now Gloversville.

Congrats to Coach Mossing and his players for working hard and getting to this point and I wish them much success as they try to defend these victories in the second half of the season.

Tonight, there are some huge games around town as Suburban North favorite Shen travels to Suburban South favorite Averill Park. This game should be a great one as it matches two of the premier defensive teams in the area against one another. This is easily the top game of the evening. Some other key games feature:

Berne-Knox @ Canjo, Granville @ Tamarac and Lansingburgh @ Cobleskill

Good luck to all of the teams tonight and I will see you on the road….

Eric, Did you miss the Averill Park/Mohonasen game last Friday? AP led by 1 after 3 quarters. Their 20 to 6 forth quarter with 6 three pointers did Mohon in. Then Mohon beat Burnt Hills by 26 a team Shen beat by 8. Just some things to consider when you next write. It is going to be another interesting year in Girls’ Hoops in Section 2.

Jim, Mohon is better then they even know. AP beat Shen by 11 & Mohon by 13. I’m sure Shen will win their division & AP probably theirs but Mohon will give them both a run for their money if they play up to their potential. I just felt that Eric made an incorrect statement saying that AP had basically blown everyone they had played away…..

I’m hearing the tickets for CBA- Schenectady game are about sold out, isn’t it first come first served type of thing. If not where can I buy tickets.If there are no tickets available shouldn’t this game be moved to somewhere a little bigger?

Watch out for the Red Raiders of Mechanicville, after losing 3 in a rao after playing in the State Championship in soccer, they have run off 4 straight including upsets of Cohoes and Voorhesville holding the latter to 32 pts. 24 below their average. This same group of girls won the State Title in softball and runner-up in the State Title game in soccer. Give them a look in the Sectionals.

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